A data center is a facility that houses interconnected (networked) computers and related support equipment for the purpose of remotely receiving, processing, storing and distributing large amounts of data. The network has a structure or configuration (referred to in the art as an “architecture”) that allows the various computers to communicate and share data through an array of optical fiber cables, routers and switches.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example data center 10 that has a conventional architecture. The data center 10 includes first and second coupling panels 20A and 20B with respective front sides 21A and 21B and respective back sides 22A and 22B. Coupling panels 20A and 20B respectively includes front-side adapters 24A, 24B and back-side adapters 26A, 26B. The data center 10 also includes by way of example four sub-racks 30-1, 30-2, 30-3 and 30-4 that support switches, routers, storage devices, servers, etc. with each sub-rack having adapters 32A and 32B.
Data center 10 utilizes first and second optical fiber trunk cables or “trunks” 40A and 40B that each carries a large number of optical fibers. Groups of fibers called “legs” 42A and 42B respectively branch off from trunks 40A and 40B to connect to connector locations or adapters 26A and 26B on the respective back sides 22A and 22B of the first and second coupling panels 20A and 20B. Individual jumper cables 50A (solid lines) and 50B (dashed lines) connect the respective front-end adapters 24A and 24B of coupling panels 20A and 20B and to the adapters 32A and 32B of the individual sub-racks 30-1, 30-2, 30-3 and 30-4, as shown. The connection of each sub-rack 30 to both of the coupling panels 20A and 20B is made for redundancy.
The use of individual jumper cables 50A and 50B in the conventional data center 10 of FIG. 1 results in cable congestion, is time consuming, labor-intensive and complicated to set up and maintain, and also adds to heating and space requirements of the data center.
Since modern-day data centers can be enormous, consume tremendous amounts of power, and increasingly rely on complicated cabling solutions, there is renewed interest in streamlining the data center architecture to optimize space usage, to reduce energy (cooling) costs, and reduce the cabling complexity.